By Heather Bell
Radford City Public Schools, along with two other Southwest Virginia school divisions, was recently
awarded a nearly $1 million grant to create a collaborative education experience between the divisions.
The grant, administered by the United States Department of Agricultue, was awarded to purchase
technology that will allow RCPS, Bristol Virginia Public Schools and Wise County Schools to share
classroom lectures, projects, performances and other experiences, as well as create a tele-health system to
bring on-line medical services to students, teachers, and staff.
“This Rural Development Investment will be used to assist an informal connection between Radford City
Public Schools, Bristol Virginia Public Schools and Wise County Schools to purchase interactive video
conferencing equipment to develop distance learning and tele-health services to 21 schools in eight rural
communities,” according to the USDA.
RCPS Superintendent Robert Graham said Monday he is looking forward to the possibilities the grant
will offer, both through the new equipment that will be purchased and through the sharing of experiences
and resources among school divisions.